Ho Ching to retire as CEO of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings on Oct. 1

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s state investment company Temasek Holdings announced Tuesday that Ho Ching will retire from her roles as chief executive and executive director on Oct. 1.

Ho, the wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has been Temasek’s CEO since 2004. She will be succeeded by Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, currently CEO of the firm’s investment arm, Temasek International.

Temasek is among the world’s largest investors. Its portfolio value stood at 306 billion Singapore dollars ($230 billion) as of March 31 last year.

Leadership succession at Temasek has been widely discussed for several years. Ho had planned to step down in October 2009 but stayed on after then CEO-designate, Charles Goodyear, left the company.

Her new successor Pillay is a former corporate lawyer who joined the company 10 years ago. He became CEO of Temasek International in 2019, overseeing the company’s investment activities.

Pillay will retain his role at the investment arm after becoming CEO of Temasek Holdings.

In its early days, the company invested mainly in Singapore companies — but it has since turned into a major global investor.

The company’s annual report in 2020 — the latest one available — showed that assets in China accounted for 29% of its portfolio. That was followed by Singapore at 24% and North America at 17%, the report said.